haggard with anxiety.

"we have let this affair go far enough," said he. "is

there a train to north walsham to-night?"

i turned up the time-table. the last had just gone.

"then we shall breakfast early and take the very first in

the morning," said holmes. "our presence is most urgently

needed. ah! here is our expected cablegram. one moment,

mrs. hudson; there may be an answer. no, that is quite as

i expected. this message makes it even more essential that

we should not lose an hour in letting hilton cubitt know

how matters stand, for it is a singular and a dangerous web

in which our simple norfolk squire is entangled."

so, indeed, it proved, and as i come to the dark conclusion

of a story which had seemed to me to be only childish and

bizarre i experience once again the dismay and horror with

which i was filled. would that i had some brighter ending

to communicate to my readers, but these are the chronicles

of fact, and i must follow to their dark crisis the strange

chain of events which for some days made ridling thorpe

manor a household word through the length and breadth of

england.

we had hardly alighted at north walsham, and mentioned the

name of our destination, when the station-master hurried

towards us. "i suppose that you are the detectives from

london?" said he.

a look of annoyance passed over holmes's face.

"what makes you think such a thing?"

"because inspector martin from norwich has just passed

through. but maybe you are the surgeons. she's not dead --

or wasn't by last accounts. you may be in time to save

her yet -- though it be for the gallows."

holmes's brow was dark with anxiety.

"we are going to ridling thorpe manor," said he, "but we

have heard nothing of what has passed there."

"it's a terrible business," said the station-master. "they

are shot, both mr. hilton cubitt and his wife. she shot

him and then herself -- so the servants say. he's dead and

her life is despaired of. dear, dear, one of the oldest

families in the county of norfolk, and one of the most

honoured."

without a word holmes hurried to a carriage, and during the

long seven miles' drive he never opened his mouth. seldom

have i seen him so utterly despondent. he had been uneasy

during all our journey from town, and i had observed that

he had turned over the morning papers with anxious

attention; but now this sudden realization of his worst

fears left him in a blank melancholy. he leaned back in

his seat, lost in gloomy speculation. yet there was much

around us to interest us, for we were passing through as

singular a country-side as any in england, where a few

scattered cottages represented the population of to-day,

while on every hand enormous square-towered churches

bristled up from the flat, green landscape and told of the

glory and prosperity of old east anglia. at last the

violet rim of the german ocean appeared over the green edge

of the norfolk coast, and the driver pointed with his whip

to two old brick and timber gables which projected from a

grove of trees. "that's ridling thorpe manor," said he.

as we drove up to the porticoed front door i observed in

front of it, beside the tennis lawn, the black tool-house

and the pedestalled sun-dial with which we had such strange

associations. a dapper little man, with a quick, alert

manner and a waxed moustache, had just descended from a

high dog-cart. he introduced himself as inspector martin,

of the norfolk constabulary, and he was considerably

astonished when he heard the name of my companion.

"why, mr. holmes, the crime was only committed at three

this morning. how could you hear of it in london and get

to the spot as soon as i?"

"i anticipated it. i came in the hope of preventing it."

"then you must have important evidence of which we are

ignorant, for they were said to be a most united couple."

"i have only the evidence of the dancing men," said holmes.

"i will explain the matter to you later. meanwhile, since

it is too late to prevent this tragedy, i am very anxious

that i should use the knowledge which i possess in order to

ensure that justice be done. will you associate me in your

investigation, or will you prefer that i should act

independently?"

"i should be proud to feel that we were acting together,

mr. holmes," said the inspector, earnestly.

"in that case i should be glad to hear the evidence and to

examine the premises without an instant of unnecessary

delay."

inspector martin had the good sense to allow my friend to

do things in his own fashion, and contented himself with

carefully noting the results. the local surgeon, an old,

white-haired man, had just come down from mrs. hilton

cubitt's room, and he reported that her injuries were

serious, but not necessarily fatal. the bullet had passed

through the front of her brain, and it woul